From Grief to Growth at Jackson Family Wines

MANY WINERY OWNERS have made large fortunes, but few could be called larger than life. The late Jess Jackson earned both the characterization and the billions thanks to his business acumen and his unique personal style. He amassed tens of thousands of acres in five countries, raced some of the most famous thoroughbreds in modern history and created Kendall-Jackson Chardonnay—a wine so successful it's not just a brand, it's a wine archetype.

I first met Mr. Jackson and his wife, Barbara Banke, almost six years ago. Mr. Jackson had stipulated that our meeting should take place at their farm in Kentucky. At the time, Mr. Jackson was nearly as focused on racing as he was on wine. He'd bought a large stable in Lexington and named it "Stonestreet"—the same name as his winery in the northern Alexander Valley of Sonoma County, Calif. (Stonestreet was Mr. Jackson's middle name as well.) The year of our meeting was particularly propitious for Stonestreet stables; their star horse Curlin won the Preakness and the Jockey Gold Cup, and was named the 2007 Horse of the Year.

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It was hard not to be impressed by Mr. Jackson: his forthright manner, his restless intellect, his towering stature (put to good use in the old Kendall-Jackson ads, in which he was invariably photographed in front of a mountain—one that he owned, of course). During our time together, he'd spoken of his desire to "clean up the racing industry"—which he deemed "more corrupt than the wine business." This was such an unpopular goal that Mr. Jackson said he received threats of bodily harm and ended up installing a 24-hour guard station at the end of the road to his house in Sonoma.

Ms. Banke, now chairman of Jackson Family Wines, is a very different sort of person—much more matter-of-fact than flamboyant. I was struck anew by their differences when she and I met in Sonoma a few weeks ago. Ms. Banke had just returned from a trip to visit their Italian property Tenuta di Arceno and to attend Vinitaly, the Italian trade fair.

We chatted briefly about the coming Derby and horse racing in general, which Ms. Banke told me "wasn't about making money"—a remark no horseman would ever refute. "Wine is profitable," Ms. Banke added. "Wine is manageable. Even in the worst harvest, we still get something out of it."

Jackson Family Wines has been getting quite a lot out of the wine business lately; Ms. Banke has made several high-profile acquisitions since she took over the company two years ago, after her husband's death. In that short period, Jackson Family Wines has added 14 new properties and 2,800 acres to the company's portfolio—bringing the total number of acres close to 35,000 world-wide.

Longtime Kendall-Jackson winemaker Randy Ullom compared the buying binge to Mr. Jackson's expansionist phase from the mid-1990s through the early 2000s. In fact, he thought today's purchases might even surpass those of that time. The current era, said Mr. Ullom, is "a supernova" compared with a decade ago, and he speculated that Ms. Banke's influence might prove even greater than that of her husband.

Ms. Banke's influence can be felt most immediately in Oregon, where on Monday the company closed on the famed Zena Crown vineyard in the Eola-Amity Hills region (along with Gran Moraine in Yamhill-Carlton). Some top Oregon Pinots have been created from Zena Crown fruit, by producers including Penner-Ash.

With the Oregon purchases made earlier this spring (Zena East and Zena Middle vineyards), the company's Oregon acreage now totals 1,350 acres. It's an enormous number by Oregon standards, considering that the average vineyard in the state is 24 acres, according to Charles Humble of the Oregon Wine Board. He noted that even the state's largest winery, King Estate, is just 500 acres in size.

Ms. Banke has already met with an architect about building a winery at Zena Crown, where she hopes to produce an estate Pinot Noir in 2013 or 2014. The Gran Moraine vineyard will likely be used to produce a Pinot Noir under the La Crema label. (La Crema, one of 30 wineries owned by Jackson Family Wines, is a Sonoma-based winery producing Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.)

Why Oregon? Apparently the sommeliers (from Germany and the U.K.) that the company had hired to help sell its wines overseas asked if Jackson Family Wines produced an Oregon Pinot. It didn't, but Ms. Banke decided that perhaps it should. I couldn't help wondering what Jess Jackson might have thought about buying vineyards in Oregon—never mind taking the advice of an English sommelier.

Oregon isn't the only place where Jackson Family Wines has staked a large claim. In early 2012, it added the famed Hickinbotham Vineyard in Australia's McLaren Vale to its holdings. According to the Wine Spectator, the company paid more than $10 million for the 445-acre vineyard, but a spokeswoman for Jackson Family Wines refused to confirm the price. The vineyard has been the source of some of Australia's best reds, including the legendary Penfolds Grange.

The company has also purchased vineyards that aren't famous (yet). Much closer to home, the company closed on a sizable purchase in the Pine Mountain-Cloverdale Peak appellation of California's Mendocino County. This new appellation, just over the border from Sonoma, is still largely unknown, but with a big Jackson Family presence it may not be for long. It remains to be seen whether Jackson Family Wines will create an estate winery or use the vineyard as a source for other brands.

The company now known as Jackson Family Wines was once known as Kendall-Jackson Wine Estates; in fact, there have been a number of different company identities over the years (something that a company spokesman acknowledged "might be confusing"). For example, the company's premium wineries, such as Lokoya, Matanzas Creek and Stonestreet, were all once encompassed by the rubric Artisans & Estates.

There are a few nonwine projects in the works as well, including Ms. Banke's Whole Vine Products, a company she created with a friend. Whole Vine produces grapeseed oil and grapeseed flour from vineyard byproducts, and gluten-free cookies, too. The former may even prove to have health-enhancing qualities, according to Ms. Banke, who will fly to a human trial at the Mayo Clinic later this year.

The Whole Vine website features a short video of Ms. Banke explaining the company's mission. Her manner is direct and forthright—reminiscent of her late husband. But she exudes competence, not charisma—more of a CEO than a larger-than-life figure. On the other hand, as Mr. Ullom noted, Ms. Banke may ultimately end up having an even greater impact on the world of wine.

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